In this episode, Zack talks with Heidi Dalton about ECMO use in Sepsis. This is another controversial area with pediatric literature showing strong results while the adult results have been less impressive. Heidi has been a key figure in both adult and pediatric ECMO. She is the former chair of the yearly ELSO conference. She is a professor at both George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University. Her background is in pediatric critical care. She currently works at INOVA in Virginia where she is the director of adult and pediatric ECMO.

Sepsis has been thought to be a contraindication to ECMO use secondary to the pro-inflammatory nature of ECMO and potential to harbor infection. Recent research is certainly controversial with adult studies showing low survival in septic shock and sepsis as a cause of arrest. As with much of ECMO literature, the problem is with the denominator – What is the expected survival of these patients? The follow up question becomes what effort is prudent for these low survival rates? The sepsis cohort tend to be younger and potential for long term survival is high. The question remains should we be utilizing ECMO for sepsis?^1–9

1.

Maclaren G, Butt W, Best D, Donath S, Taylor A. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for refractory septic shock in children: one institution’s experience. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2007;8(5):447-451. [PubMed]

2.

Datzmann T, Träger K. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and cytokine adsorption. J. 2018;10(S5):S653-S660. doi:10.21037/jtd.2017.10.128

3.

Perdue SM, Poore BJ, Babu AN, Stribling WK. Successful use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support in severe septic shock with associated acute cardiomyopathy. J. 2018;33(1):50-52. doi:10.1111/jocs.13508

4.

von Bahr V, Hultman J, Eksborg S, Frenckner B, Kalzén H. Long-Term Survival in Adults Treated With Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Respiratory Failure and Sepsis*. C. 2017;45(2):164-170. doi:10.1097/ccm.0000000000002078

5.

Millar J, Fanning J, McDonald C, McAuley D, Fraser J. The inflammatory response to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO): a review of the pathophysiology. Crit Care. 2016;20(1):387. [PubMed]

6.

Choi M, Ha S, Kim H, Park S, Han S, Lee S. The Simplified Acute Physiology Score II as a Predictor of Mortality in Patients Who Underwent Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Septic Shock. Ann Thorac Surg. 2017;103(4):1246-1253. [PubMed]

7.

Tramm R, Ilic D, Davies A, Pellegrino V, Romero L, Hodgson C. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for critically ill adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;1:CD010381. [PubMed]

8.

Park T, Yang J, Jeon K, et al. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for refractory septic shock in adults. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2015;47(2):e68-74. [PubMed]

9.

Sharma A, Weerwind P, Maessen J. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation resuscitation in adult patients with refractory septic shock. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2014;147(4):1441-1442. [PubMed]

EDECMO 45: ECMO in Sepsis

EDECMO Podcast